Starting ‘Big school’ for the first time can be an exciting yet daunting and sometimes emotional experience for both children and parents. With the new school year fast approaching Mrs Chalmers, Head of Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) at Meoncross School has put together some ‘top tips’ to help parents prepare for this important milestone- The Reception Year. Be positive and try not to let your child pick up on any

Meoncross School continues to perform well above the National Average Students and staff at Meoncross School were today celebrating another year of fantastic GCSE results, significantly outperforming their peers nationally. 43% of all grades achieved were a level 7 (or A and above) compared to 20% across the UK while 36% of Mathematics and 48% of English grades were also 7+. Further, a quarter of all

Starting ‘big’ school can be an anxious time for families, sometimes more so for parents than children. As an experienced Infant class teacher, I helped countless children make the move from nursery to school. Yet when I left my youngest son on his first day in his Reception class, it was an emotional milestone for me and tears were shed. Many parents ask me 'How

A group of pupils from Year 8 to Year 11 have this week enjoyed a fantastic, festive trip to the city of Cologne in Germany. The party arrived back at school, safe and sound - and on time - on Thursday evening. A report of their adventure follows. "We all made our way to school for an early 5:00 am start. Despite our concerns about

In 1998 a paper was published in the Journal for Research into Mathematics Education entitled, “Tell Me With Whom You’re Learning, and I’ll Tell You How Much You’ve Learned”. It’s a provocative title, given that a significant focus in any educational environment is ensuring that all pupils make progress. Not just any progress, but the holy grail of rapid and sustained progress, for every individual.

Meoncross School has offered learning outside of the classroom in the form of 'beach school' for our lower school children over the last four years. The success of the regular visits and the impact this has on pupils learning and their wellbeing has been evident. As a result, we are busy building plans to open this offer to those in the upper school. As an

During October half term Mr Lovett, Head of History, travelled to Germany for a teacher study tour of Berlin. The tour was fully funded by the German Foreign Office and organised and run through the European Academy Berlin. It involved visits to a diverse range of locations with specialists on German culture, politics and history. Here, Mr Lovett reflects on a fascinating visit. “After 12

Families turned out in force to enjoy our coastal themed fun day on a stretch of Hampshire shoreline overlooking the Solent. A large gathering of parents, grandparents and children descended on Hill Head Beach near Fareham on Friday, 27th October for a free community event. Children made creatures and wind chimes using driftwood, shells and rocks scavenged from the beach. They learnt to tie boating

During the first half of the autumn term, I wrote to you of my reading on the teenage brain and the potential impact of both the neuroscience and various other factors including peer pressure, risk taking and examination stress. I promised then to write further on the research currently coming to the fore on the impact mobile phones can have on pupils’, and indeed adults’,

Listening to the radio this morning, I heard the headlines reporting the increased levels of anxiety and stress in our young people with 25% of girls and 9% of boys reporting having struggled with their emotional wellbeing. The reporter stressed how important it is that we all deploy strategies to help. The detail is better explained here. As you may have read in earlier blogs

“The single biggest predictor of success in adult life is wellbeing in childhood”, says Sarah Ebery, Headmistress at Meoncross School in Fareham. Mrs Ebery is purposefully embedding the five strands of wellbeing – connect, be active, take notice, learn and give – into her school, to equip all pupils with the resilience they need to navigate the world. Mrs Ebery, an experienced teacher, is bringing

The last fortnight has seen the press filled with commentary on the increased rigour of the new GCSE and A-levels after the recent reforms. Here at Meoncross we know how very hard all of our pupils have worked and we had everything crossed for a fair reward for their efforts. The outcomes were more than we dared hope for; at A-level, in subjects as diverse

I was lucky enough on Thursday to share results day with our first ever Year 13 leavers: young people with top grades from a wide range of subjects including Mathematics, Textiles, Business and Physics [...]

GCSE results at Meoncross School in Fareham have eclipsed the national picture with pupils achieving top grades against a backdrop of exam reform and increasing academic challenge. Tough new exams in English language, English literature and maths have tested the quality of teaching and learning at Meoncross School and found it to be first class. The new exams are graded 9 to 1, with 9

Congratulations are in order for our students who have completed post-16 studies. We are today celebrating a clean sweep of success in the sixth form with the publication of A-level and equivalent results. Christopher Dunster achieved A* in Maths, A in Physics and B in both Chemistry and Further Maths. Chris joined us into Year 9 and he has benefited hugely from the small classes,

A teenage triathlete has done the school proud with a rip-roaring performance in a national competition. Ronnie, pictured, finished fourth in the national independent schools triathlon, despite very wet and slippery ground conditions. The 13-year-old, a member of Chapel Tristars, swam 300m, cycled 6.9km and ran 2.4km in 31 minutes and 51 seconds. Proud mum Mrs Reeve said: “Ronnie was definitely up for the challenge

On Thursday 6 July the A Level Classics group went on a Roman Sussex road trip! We visited Fishbourne Roman Palace in the morning, where we experienced a site tour and domestic life workshop. During the workshop, we explored Roman cooking methods, handled ancient artefacts and enjoyed photo opportunities in a Roman kitchen. After a lunch stop in Roman Chichester, we set off for Bignor Roman villa

On Friday 23rd June, Year 4 were invited to the inaugural school sleepover. Following a morning of team activities at the Beach, a picnic lunch and swimming as normal, Year 4 bid farewell to the rest of the school as they set up camp in the Junior block. Mrs George, Mrs Jenkins, Mrs Marshall and Mr Stamper were amused, dismayed and astounded by how much luggage

The Nursery trip to West Wittering was a huge success! The weather was glorious and everyone had so much fun. Once at the beach we talked about our beach safety rules which apply to our usual Beach School. An area was marked with cones ensuring children kept safe within the zoned area. The children were very excited to see so much sand and could not wait to

Year 5 were 'Masterchefs' on Friday 23 June, creating traditional Greek salads. They learned how to use a sharp knife sensibly and sliced juicy tomatoes and crunchy cucumbers. They added feta cheese, green and black olives to their salad and then prepared a dressing of olive oil and oregano. At lunchtime, they enjoyed a minced lamb and cheese dish accompanied by their salad. To complete their meal, fresh

On the morning of Friday 23 June, the Upper School Assembly welcomed Sgt Gooding and PC White, from the Volunteer Police Cadets. This came as a result of a suggestion by Jack F in Year 8, who is himself a Police Cadet, and we were delighted that the school could benefit from a pupil's personal interest like this: thank you, Jack! The talk by Sgt Gooding

Year 3 enjoyed a trip to SeaCity Museum in Southampton to support their investigation of the Titanic disaster. On arrival, the children were in awe of the dark city streets of 1912 Southampton, the figures, the old shops and the piped street sounds.They looked carefully at the names on the 'Crew Wall' and identified that over three-quarters of the crew came from Southampton. In their

On Monday 19 June, Dr Myron Christodoulides, a professor in Bacteriology from the University of Southampton visited Year 10. He gave a talk about "Vaccines for Human and Animal Health". In it he explained about the history of vaccination, how vaccines work, current vaccination schedules and recent develops in vaccine technology. It was an excellent talk which was well received by Year 10.

This week Year 1 have been creating art in the style of Andy Goldsworthy. Andy Goldsworthy OBE is a British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist producing site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings. He lives and works in Scotland. Pupils collected items from the beach and then used them in their nature art.

The Upper School Debating Society, inspired by the prospect of a General Election, started to work on their own "House manifestos" at the start of this term, and we finally managed to hold our very own "Leaders' Debate" this week. The aim of the exercise was not political, so the brief was about running the school, not the country. Some of the manifesto pledges included: a

Friday 16 June saw the Lower School share breakfast with their Dads and Grandads for Fathers' Day. Chef Debbie and her team did a sterling job and provided everyone with delicious bacon or sausage baps. It was great to see so many Dads attend. We hope you all enjoyed your breakfast and that you had a wonderful Fathers'day on Sunday.

The next generation of surgeons, pilots and software engineers are being inspired to study STEM subjects through robot wars. The weekly after school club, open to Years 6, 7 and 8, is proving hugely popular amongst pupils. It teaches pupils how hardware and software link and how mechanical objects are designed and built to provide a solution. At the end of each half term, the

The Nursery topic this week is ‘Keeping Healthy.’ The Nursery currently has a Dental Surgery set up in the role play area and to reinforce the children’s learning we had a visit from Olivia Burrows who is part of the dental team at Westleigh Dental Practice in Fareham. Olivia explained to the children that they need to take care of their teeth as these are used

To celebrate the end of KS2 SATS week, the Year 6 pupils were taken on a tour of the new sports field. All agreed that it is a fantastic addition to the school. Mr Waites gave a presentation on the stages of construction, which was very informative and they also toured the area where the excess water will drain into. They want to return on a rainy

On Wednesday 7th June, Year 3 were delighted to welcome Mrs Lynch to their Year 3 Science lesson. Mrs Lynch, who is a Physiotherapist, told the children all about their bones, joints and muscles. Did you know that there are 206 bones in your body? Did you know that the femur is the longest, heaviest and strongest bone in your body? Well, Year 3 do! Mrs

Year 2 enjoyed a trip to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard on Tuesday 13 June. Travelling by Gosport Ferry added excitement to the day and they enjoyed spotting landmarks such as the Emirates Spinnaker Tower. The 'Nelson's Shipmates' workshop was both wonderful and informative, with five different activities about life on board 'The Victory'. After lunch we boarded HMS Victory and explored every deck of the ship. It was

Pupils decamped from their classroom for real-life lessons on the beach on their doorstep. Year 4 children took their geography lesson outdoors to learn about coastal erosion and human impact on the environment. It is part of a regular ‘beach school’ delivered by teachers at Meoncross who make full use of the natural resource just minutes from their gates. The eight and nine-year-olds considered the

The very popular annual event, Grandparents Day, was this year spread over two afternoons, to cater for the numbers wanting to participate. Lower School pupils invited their grandparents to join them for lessons in the classrooms, which is always so much fun for the children and their relatives. Afterwards, the grandparents enjoyed a delicious Afternoon tea whilst being entertained by Lower School pupils in a

I thought it worthwhile putting pen to paper at this stage to explain why we felt such a strong compulsion to take part in the Big Row event in support of James Shone and his charity 'I can and I am'. You may remember that we welcomed James to Meoncross earlier in the academic year. He was an inspirational speaker and both staff and pupils

If you are looking for an independent school for your child, we understand how hard it can be to visit schools during the working day. For this reason, this term we are opening the classrooms and facilities for a special evening open event. Thursday 11 May 6 - 8pm Prefects will show you round the school and talk to your about their experiences at Meoncross; staff

Friday 28 April 2017 Schools from Dorset to West Sussex attending this cross country event held at Oakwood School. Meoncross put up a talented team of Under 10s and 11s which secured both excellent individual performances and a strong overall team performance. Charlie B, sports scholar, 1st place , Gabe S 5th place and the rest of the team finishing in the top 20. Competitors : Charlie B, Gabe S,

Friday 28 April 2017 Lost 33-18 Charlotte S (C), Ciara F, Lauren B, Lucy I, Kelci-Rose B, Sara W and Charlotte T. Ellie H (Assistant Coach) On Friday, the AIS Team finished their Cognita Netball Tour at Meoncross. Having played 7 matches in two weeks, they were vastly experienced as a team winning every match on the tour. The Meoncross team, consisting of pupils from years

The annual whole school walk was a 5km route around the new sports field and across the countryside surrounding the school, walking off the hog roast lunch provided as an end of term treat for the pupils.

A brave cohort of Year 10 pupils tackled the Prefect selection process at the end of the spring term. Each candidate had to stand before an assembly of their peers and teachers and speak for one minute about why they would make a good senior prefect and to introduce their ideas for how to make things even better at the school. Amongst the qualities required for

Alex Thomson returned to Gosport on the Hugo Boss yacht that he raced round the world in the Vendee Globe. Parents and staff turned up at the Gosport Hard along with many others in this sailing community, to wave flags and cheer as the flotilla entered the harbour and ushered Alex, with Oscar - Meoncross Infant and Alex's son - standing bravely on the deck

Kareem from Year 2 visited Mrs Ebery in her study and brought with him the work he had been doing in English on The Twits. He produced a very good comic strip showing his favourite piece from the story, where Mr Twit ties Mrs Twit to a metal hoop in the ground and fastens balloons to her so that she will stretch. Kareem used a

We would like to thank you all for your kindness and support in donating towards our charities last term. Time and again we are overwhelmed by your generosity when we ask for your help. The Diana Award, following The Anti Bullying Ambassadors initiative - £176.62 BBC Children in Need Appeal - £176.61 NSPCC following Number Day - £210.15 Thank you again.

Mrs Ebery was visited in her study by three girls from Year 6. Isabella, Sasha and Jessica who all received Commendations for their commitment to reading and the daily completion of their reading records. All three girls received five House points for their efforts.